Brazilian Teens Learn English by Video Chatting with American Nursing Home Residents

Two people, worlds apart, helping, connecting and learning from one another. If that’s not the utopian ideal of the Internet, we don’t know what is.

FCB Brazil’s “Speaking Exchange” project, conducted through CNA language schools, connects young Brazilians who want to learn English with older Americans in retirement homes. Students create videos of their conversations and upload them to YouTube, where professors can view them and grade their progress.

The pilot project was implemented at a CNA school in Liberdade, Brazil, and the Windsor Park Retirement Community in Chicago. Watching the clip, you can see the participants develop bonds grounded in more than education – they might not share a lot of common ground at the start, but they end up connecting in surprising ways.

“The idea is simple, and it’s a win-win proposition for both the students and the American senior citizens. It’s exciting to see their reactions and contentment. It truly benefits both sides,” Joanna Monteiro, executive creative director at FCB Brazil, told AdWeek.